Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)

Director:

Richard Attenborough

Writers:

Charles Chilton (play)
Len Deighton (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 October 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | War

Tagline:

The ever popular war game with songs battles & a few jokes

Plot:

A movie about the First World War based on a stage musical of the same name, portraying the "Game of...

Plot Keywords:

Satire | General | Son | 1910s | Singing

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 7 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Wendy Allnutt	...	Flo Smith
Colin Farrell	...	Harry Smith
Malcolm McFee	...	Freddie Smith
John Rae	...	Grandpa Smith
Corin Redgrave	...	Bertie Smith
Maurice Roëves	...	George Smith
Paul Shelley	...	Jack Smith
Kim Smith	...	Dickie Smith
Angela Thorne	...	Betty Smith
Mary Wimbush	...	Mary Smith
Vincent Ball	...	Australian Soldier
Pia Colombo	...	Estaminet Singer
Paul Daneman	...	Czar Nicholas II
Isabel Dean	...	Sir John French's Lady
Christian Doermer	...	Fritz

Runtime:

144 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G | UK:PG (video rating) | UK:A (original rating) | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:11 | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Bayham Abbey, Lamberhurst, Kent, England, UK

Company:

Accord Productions

Trivia:

Tom Courtenay and 'Alan Bates' were both offered key cameos.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Sir John's car drives off after his conversation with Harry, a modern car can be seen reflected in the window.

Quotes:

Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig: Grant us victory, O Lord, before the Americans get here.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV)

Should be subtitled: Don't Go Near the Poppies

I first saw this movie in the theater in 1969. In my opinion it was by far the most powerful anti-war movie I had ever seen. I came to IMDB looking for a place where I could order a copy so that my children could see it. I can not think of another movie which makes use of the media so effectively. For instance, the party atmosphere of the boardwalk where we see a toy merry-go-round with puppets which blends into a real merry-go-round with real soldiers and real women which blends into real soldiers in a real battle. And the scene where the "upper class" lady is enticing men to join the army morphs into a whore soliciting anybody she can drag onstage. Then the camera moves to the men gathered backstage and the backdrop of the curtains in the theatre becomes the canvas cover of the truck carrying the men to the battlefront. Death is symbolized by poppies. The surrealistic atmosphere allows the characters to pass by poppies, or be handed a poppy rather than being shot or dying from mustard gas. And I particularly liked the scoreboard where the result--regardless of the men lost or the ground lost was always VICTORY! The final scene with the women and children having a picnic in a beautiful field requires the scope of the "big screen." When the child comes running up to his mother and asks, "What did Daddy do in the war?" the answer comes not from the mother but from the camera pulling back very slowly from the picnic. We see a cross and some poppies and then we see more poppies and more crosses until all we can see are the crosses and poppies of Flanders Field and we are no longer able to distinguish the people having the picnic. This is a film for those who enjoy surrealism and satire. It is a must for anyone studying anti-war films. And as an added treat, it has in it practically everybody who was anybody in British theatre at the time it was made.